The explosion in computing power within the last 15 years has led to the widespread adoption of computer based simulations for training personnel in various tasks. Simulators can now be found for everything from piloting aircraft to driving cars. However, it has been in the military that simulation based training has found its most widespread use. Military based simulations now train military personnel for duties as diverse as driving a tank, being a door gunner on a helicopter gunship, to flying the latest military aircraft.
While military simulators for various crew positions in aircraft exist, there has been a dearth of simulators for crewmembers who work in the cargo compartment, for example, loadmasters, observers and search and rescue (SAR) technicians. Those that do exist do not provide an authentic “out of the window” experience that simulates the limited view that loadmasters, observers and SAR technicians have out of an aircraft window. Such simulators would be useful for training observers in spotting and identifying threats to the aircraft. As well, SAR technicians can be trained in spotting and reporting visual cues that would indicate a crash site or a rescue situation.
Present simulators for this purpose only allow for airborne and air sourced threats (such as missiles). None of the simulators presently available show ground based components of the threats such as personnel with shoulder launched missiles or anti-aircraft artillery pieces. As well, none of the present simulators have the capability to show ground based scenes that would be useful for training SAR technicians.
More importantly, none of the present simulators limit the vision of the trainees of the view out of the window. As is well-known, windows in aircraft, especially military aircraft, tend to be small and are not ideal for sight-seeing or for observing the region surrounding the aircraft. However, it is specifically through these windows that observers have to watch for threats to the aircraft and, when necessary, alert the flight aircrew to the existence and location of these threats. As such, a more authentic and realistic experience would be had from simulators if these simulators provided the trainees with a more limited view of the area around the aircraft. Trainees would then have to move their heads and bodies around to obtain a better view of the area, as they would have to do in real life. Furthermore, the viewing limitation imposed by the trainee's own aircraft also provide a frame of reference that affect the trainee's judgments about the spatiotemporal relationship amongst the trainee, the aircraft, and the objects external to the aircraft.
Some of the current simulators for training observers only provide trainees with a circular view of a scene outside the aircraft. Trainees only see this circular view and, as such, are not required to try and improve their view of the scene as would happen in real life.
Based on the above, there is therefore a need for newer and better simulator systems for training observers and SAR technicians in identifying both ground and air based circumstances which may need attention from the aircrew.